


Oenomel

by RoseGardenTwilight



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Meet-Cute, Pre-Canon, birthday gift, young Sabine and Tom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-26
Updated: 2019-09-26
Packaged: 2020-10-28 11:20:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20777720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseGardenTwilight/pseuds/RoseGardenTwilight
Summary: (n) something combining strength and sweetness.Tom Dupain was perfectly content working in his father's bakery day in and day out until a new girl shows up in his school.





	Oenomel

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CaughtFeelings](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaughtFeelings/gifts).

> A.n.- I'm backkk. This is a lovely birthday gift for the one and only Caughtfeelings. I appreciate her so much, so is one of my biggest cheerleaders, so how could I not write something for you? I really hope you all enjoy it. 
> 
> Huge thank you to Tempomental and GuardianKarenTerrier for betaing. You guys should check out their stuff.

Tom peeked around the corner, hoping the vision he witnessed hadn’t disappeared in a blink of an eye. She had transferred a week ago and he still hadn’t gathered enough courage to talk to her in complete sentences. All of his attempts may have well been impersonations of a malfunctioning motorboat. She was nice about it, but he ran away before the embarrassment fully set in.  
  
Her name was Sabine; she was born in China but was raised in Tibet. Her introduction to the class drew Tom in more. He had so many questions. He hadn’t traveled out of Paris, but by the sounds of it, she had traveled to countless places.  
  
If he wanted to make any headway with talking to her then he would have to man up and overcome his nerves. He would talk to her. However, after rounding the corner, he noticed that quite a few guys were standing around her- some of whom came from affluent families. His heart dropped inside his chest. Of course, André Bourgeois would notice someone as beautiful as Sabine. All he could offer was bread and the mice that he shared his home with. Even with a dream to open his own bakery one day, the other guys were on a whole different level.  
  
His eyes snapped up off the floor when he noticed he was being watched by a pair of gray eyes. Her eyes.  
  
The faintest appearance of a smile appeared before she excused herself from the group that surrounded her-and headed his way.  
  
No. He wasn’t ready, he could hear his racing heart pounding through his ears, his palms start to sweat, and the hairs on his neck and arms stood straight up to make room for the goosebumps to follow. It would give the wrong impression if he ran, not to mention open himself to be teased and tormented by his classmates.  
  
“You’re Tom, right?”  
  
Oh no. She knew his name. Although hearing her say it made his heart flutter, the anxiety whispered what else did she hear about you?

“Yep, that’s me.” His response was followed by silence. What else was he supposed to say?

“I heard your parents own a bakery in Paris, I just wanted to let you know how I thought that was cool. I used to bake bread all the time growing up in the summers with some monks that taught me.”

He thought she was cool before, now she gained even more points in his book.

“I’m still new here, I was hoping you could show me around the school?”

The warmth that inflated in his chest fell flat in an instant.  
  
“I promised that I would help my father in the bakery after school today.”  
  
“Oh.”  
  
Was he imagining her shoulders slump in disappointment? If he didn’t offer another time then one of the other guys was bound to step in and give her a tour.  
  
“But I probably could give you one tomorrow?” It was a long shot, but it was all he could do. His father was set in his ways and if Tom skipped out of his responsibilities, he would pay for it later on.  
  
“Tomorrow then,” she smiled as she pushed her hair behind her ear.  
  
Sabine was gone in the blink of an eye chatting up with Emilie Carrell and her best friend Nathalie.  
  
All the meanwhile, Tom’s feet may have been planted, but his mind was among the clouds.

“Tom!” His father’s voice boomed through the house.  
  
The call jolted him from his bed and Tom raced to the kitchen, leaving his homework books behind. Time must have gotten away from him and now he was late, a fact that his father wouldn’t forget easily.  
  
“You’re late.”  
  
There it was. Disappointment laced thoroughly through his voice and the way he was glaring at the dough in front of him.  
  
“Sorry,” he muttered. Maybe if he hadn’t daydreamed about Sabine for the last thirty minutes, he would have been on time.  
  
After a couple of minutes, his father started humming the familiar tune that he always did signaling his mood returning to normal. He bit his lip, questioning his timing. If he asked too soon, his father would shut him down immediately, but if he waited too long, he would lose his nerve.  
  
“Um, father?” It was best to get it over with, wasn’t it? “I was hoping that I could stay after school for a little bit tomorrow.”  
  
“But I need your help in the bakery. You’re supposed to help me right after school.”  
  
“I was hoping I could help you a little later in the day.”  
  
“But this is how things are always done. No. I’m sorry, I need your help.”  
  
Tom found his heart shattering inside his chest. Well, there went that request.  
  
“Yes, father.” His head dropped and the only sound that could be heard was his father’s soft humming.

Inventory day. Tom hated Tuesday with a passion. One of his responsibilities was to unload the truck that came, but carrying sack after sack of flour grew tedious and exhausting.  
  
And with every trip inside, Tom could feel his father’s eyes plastered on him.

“One hour.”

The words caught him off guard. “What do you mean, father?”

“You can stay after school for one hour tomorrow. But only if you finish the inventory today.”

All that remained was counting the stock for the form for the delivery next week. It would only take him fifteen minutes or so because of the system he had in place. More than a fair trade to spend an hour with Sabine.

“Deal.” His frown lifted into a beaming smile and didn’t falter for the rest of the day.

“I really appreciate you doing this!” Sabine nudged his shoulder playfully.  
  
His nerves got the better of him all day. Focusing in class was next to impossible. And it all led up to this.  
  
“It’s not a problem.” He counted it a blessing to not fumble over his words. Although it would have been better if he didn’t cram them together next time.  
  
Silence only resonated for a couple of ticks of his watch before she broke it.  
  
“So, what’s your favorite part of working at the bakery?”  
  
Right now? Inventory day. He had decided to never complain about it again. Counting flour and sugar bags was the only reason he was here and not rolling dough with his father. But he couldn’t very well say that it reeked of desperation.  
  
“I think it’s the knowledge that I pour my heart into what I make, in hopes that love will fill the homes of Paris.” After his answer left his mouth he realized how corny that sounded. No, no, no. Leave it to him to sound stupid in front of her.  
  
“I think that’s beautiful.”  
  
The question why circled around his head to the point where he couldn’t hold it in.  
  
“Why did you choose me to give you the tour?”

“Because you seemed like a friendly face among the crowd. I remember the first day I came to school. It rained all day, and I was already nervous about starting school. You were the first person to smile at me. It seems silly, but I felt welcomed instantly. I asked around to find out about you.” Her cheeks reddened, which just made her more attractive. “And everyone assured me you were as sweet as you seemed.”  
  
Well, that was good. Although, if she did hear something awful, Tom doubted she would tell him. Heat grazed the edge of his ears and neck; he had to cough to get his emotions under control.  
  
“You are too,” he blurted out loud without thinking. “Sweet as you seem.” His internal alarms started to blare inside his head. “Not that I expected that you weren’t or anything.  
Some people just aren’t what they seem—“ Disaster.  
  
Sabine’s laughter caught his attention. She placed her hand on his arm to stop any further stumbling.  
  
“I know what you mean,” she assured, before the two engaged in conversation back and forth, exchanging stories.  
  
Tom’s watch started going off. He deflated: how could an hour finish so soon? And he didn’t even give her a proper tour. They walked and talked, but their conversations were about their lives, not the school.  
  
“I have to go.” His shoulders dropped.  
  
Her face scrunched in thought before pulling out a pen. She grabbed his hand and scribbled out some numbers.  
  
“Call me.”  
  
Tom’s eyes didn’t leave his palm. “But I— I’m a terrible tour guide. I didn’t show you around the school.” Once he gathered the courage, he met her smirking lips.  
  
“You gave me exactly what I needed.” She took a couple of steps back. “Besides,” her grin widened. “I already got an official tour of the school.”  
  
By the time he put what she said together, she was gone. Warmth flooded his chest as he glanced back at the phone number. He wasn’t sure what just happened, but only the days to come would reveal what would blossom between them. Tom just knew, he was a sucker for love stories.

**Author's Note:**

> A.n.- I'm not going to lie, I'm really tempted to continue this. It's so interesting to see it from this side. So, if that's something you all want to see, let me know and I'll see what I could do. :)


End file.
